Call for an Advance Scout

SSG Troyer · 05-17-2006, 02:40 PM

Correct me if I'm wrong.

Every MLB team has a scout who watches whatever team his employer's squad is about to face. Am I right? With the (WIP) Scouting chapter of the manual now available, I don't see the ability to do this.

I could micromanage one scout, sending him to my next opponent. But it takes (roughly) two weeks to fully scout a team. This is too long to be an effective Advance Scout. Even so, I could, if I really wanted to, Quick Scout every player on my next opponent's roster, but honestly, I don't think I want to be bothered with that.

We need the ability to Quick Scout a team in three days. Then, I could effectively micromanage an Advance Scout.

But it would be even nicer if there was an Advance Scout staff position that would automatically do this, as long as he held the job ...

Riverdome · 05-17-2006, 02:46 PM

In general I think the scouting system is going to require way too much of my time. But the wonderful thing about OOTP has always been the ability to turn off features that we don't like.

Maybe a good middle ground would be a "Scouting Light" system that wasn't quite so in depth. Something to think about for OOTP7.

I also like the idea of an advance scout. This would go a long way in making the scouting system a part of the game and not as encompassing as it seems like it will be.

Raidergoo · 05-17-2006, 03:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SSG Troyer

We need the ability to Quick Scout a team in three days.

Good idea, and I brought it up in Beta forum. I also alerted the Powers that Be.

endgame · 05-17-2006, 03:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SSG Troyer

We need the ability to Quick Scout a team in three days. Then, I could effectively micromanage an Advance Scout.

Elaborate a bit on what information you'd be expecting that role to provide and what you'd plan to do with it.

battists · 05-17-2006, 03:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by endgame

Elaborate a bit on what information you'd be expecting that role to provide and what you'd plan to do with it.

I like this idea a lot. I could see it working like this:

a. a new scout position is added to each team, "advance scout" (or it could just be a designation for one of the existing slots)

b. this scout would not need to be (or could not be) assigned tasks during the season. He would automatically scout out each next opponent. On the day before a series begins with a team, he would provide a report.

In my vision, it would be something like this:

1. It would be as if the scout "quick-scouted" each player on the team.
2. The message would include the following info:

- Overall info on the team - last 10 games, position in the standings, etc.
- significant injuries (they just lost Wilson for the season, that's a big drop at center field for them)
- streaks (Cruz is unstoppable right now, we should pitch around him as much as possible; let's take advantage of White, he couldn't hit his way out of a wet paper bag)
- key players (just a list of the star-caliber players on their team)
- extra cool option: pitch matchup analysis (something like "We have our number 4 pitcher going against their ace on Wednesday. You should have a quick hook - we can't let that game get away from us...")

Thoughts?

Steve

Gumies · 05-17-2006, 03:55 PM

I really like that idea Steve, that would be an amazing option, and really turn up the realism another lvl.

- Chris

sean-patin · 05-17-2006, 03:56 PM

yeah... that would definitely be something that I'd love!

Malleus Dei · 05-17-2006, 03:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by battists

I like this idea a lot. I could see it working like this:

a. a new scout position is added to each team, "advance scout" (or it could just be a designation for one of the existing slots)

b. this scout would not need to be (or could not be) assigned tasks during the season. He would automatically scout out each next opponent. On the day before a series begins with a team, he would provide a report.

In my vision, it would be something like this:

1. It would be as if the scout "quick-scouted" each player on the team.
2. The message would include the following info:

- Overall info on the team - last 10 games, position in the standings, etc.
- significant injuries (they just lost Wilson for the season, that's a big drop at center field for them)
- streaks (Cruz is unstoppable right now, we should pitch around him as much as possible; let's take advantage of White, he couldn't hit his way out of a wet paper bag)
- key players (just a list of the star-caliber players on their team)
- extra cool option: pitch matchup analysis (something like "We have our number 4 pitcher going against their ace on Wednesday. You should have a quick hook - we can't let that game get away from us...")

Thoughts?

Steve

GREAT IDEA! Now sell it to Markus!

andymac · 05-17-2006, 04:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by battists

I like this idea a lot. I could see it working like this:

a. a new scout position is added to each team, "advance scout" (or it could just be a designation for one of the existing slots)

b. this scout would not need to be (or could not be) assigned tasks during the season. He would automatically scout out each next opponent. On the day before a series begins with a team, he would provide a report.

In my vision, it would be something like this:

1. It would be as if the scout "quick-scouted" each player on the team.
2. The message would include the following info:

- Overall info on the team - last 10 games, position in the standings, etc.
- significant injuries (they just lost Wilson for the season, that's a big drop at center field for them)
- streaks (Cruz is unstoppable right now, we should pitch around him as much as possible; let's take advantage of White, he couldn't hit his way out of a wet paper bag)
- key players (just a list of the star-caliber players on their team)
- extra cool option: pitch matchup analysis (something like "We have our number 4 pitcher going against their ace on Wednesday. You should have a quick hook - we can't let that game get away from us...")

Thoughts?

Steve

Sounds great, Steve...pretty much exactly what I would be looking for in an Advance Scout report. The only thing I could possibly say to add is for the advance scout to also do some research for you in terms of matchups. Maybe part of his report should be that your backup 2nd baseman has pretty good career numbers vs. the guy who is supposed to pitch in the 2nd game of the series. Same goes for simple platoon splits, he should probably tell you if their number 3 hitter is significantly better vs. lefties or righties. Basically, along with scouting he could be a way to get some quick info about the series matchups for those who don't want to look at a bunch of different reports before each series.

SSG Troyer · 05-17-2006, 04:02 PM

The manual says we can ask for a Quick Scout of any one player and get a 'rough' answer immedeatly. I'd like to be able to tell a scout to Quick Scout a team, effectively giving a Quick Scout report for every player that hits the field in whatever games he watches games.

The Advance Scout would look ahead in his employer's schedule, travel to whereever the next team his employer is to face, and Quick Scout that team until they are ready to play his Home Side. Then he would move on to the next team. We would get a message the day before the series started (and accessable in-game (which I believe is already in place)) filled with Quick Scouting Reports of every player who had played in whatever games he had watched.

In game, I would have an up-to-date FoW and quick access to a (very) recent scouting report.

SSG Troyer · 05-17-2006, 04:04 PM

dola

What Steve said, too ...

kagnew35 · 05-17-2006, 04:06 PM

[quote=andymac]Sounds great, Steve...pretty much exactly what I would be looking for in an Advance Scout report. The only thing I could possibly say to add is for the advance scout to also do some research for you in terms of matchups. Maybe part of his report should be that your backup 2nd baseman has pretty good career numbers vs. the guy who is supposed to pitch in the 2nd game of the series. Same goes for simple platoon splits, he should probably tell you if their number 3 hitter is significantly better vs. lefties or righties. Basically, along with scouting he could be a way to get some quick info about the series matchups for those who don't want to look at a bunch of different reports before each series.[/quote

Well said and great idea, andymac, would really save a lot of time poring over whole teams scouting reports.

Twelvefield · 05-17-2006, 04:13 PM

This makes a lot of sense to me. I mean, there are a lot of bits of information we could collect ourselves on a game-to-game basis, but that just amounts to a mouse-clickfest. The scouting staff should be bright enough to see that there are games coming up in the schedule and deal with them.

I wonder if there's only one advance scout in real-life, and if he travels to all of the games in advance of his team. Or, do the scouts take turns for this job? What would happen if a scout couldn't make it to the game in time (i.e. his flight gets cancelled)?

Hotblack Desiato · 05-17-2006, 04:17 PM

It really depends on how it's implemented. I wouldn't want it if it's not useful information. I can look at a team myself and see who's been injured recently or who's on a hot or cold streak. If they were reevaluating their ratings or something truly insightful, that would be great, but the last thing we need is an MVP 2005-style advance scout. "The Yankees are one of the best hitting teams in the league. Therefore, we should be careful pitching to them." Really?!

andymac · 05-17-2006, 04:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hotblack Desiato

It really depends on how it's implemented. I wouldn't want it if it's not useful information. I can look at a team myself and see who's been injured recently or who's on a hot or cold streak. If they were reevaluating their ratings or something truly insightful, that would be great, but the last thing we need is an MVP 2005-style advance scout. "The Yankees are one of the best hitting teams in the league. Therefore, we should be careful pitching to them." Really?!

Agreed.

Mattymo · 05-17-2006, 04:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by battists

I like this idea a lot. I could see it working like this:

a. a new scout position is added to each team, "advance scout" (or it could just be a designation for one of the existing slots)

b. this scout would not need to be (or could not be) assigned tasks during the season. He would automatically scout out each next opponent. On the day before a series begins with a team, he would provide a report.

In my vision, it would be something like this:

1. It would be as if the scout "quick-scouted" each player on the team.
2. The message would include the following info:

- Overall info on the team - last 10 games, position in the standings, etc.
- significant injuries (they just lost Wilson for the season, that's a big drop at center field for them)
- streaks (Cruz is unstoppable right now, we should pitch around him as much as possible; let's take advantage of White, he couldn't hit his way out of a wet paper bag)
- key players (just a list of the star-caliber players on their team)
- extra cool option: pitch matchup analysis (something like "We have our number 4 pitcher going against their ace on Wednesday. You should have a quick hook - we can't let that game get away from us...")

Thoughts?

Steve

Great Idea. I'd especially love to see pitching matchups. This way I know that if I have a lefty catcher, but he's tired, I can see when/if they have a lefty throwing, and sit him during that game.

Raidergoo · 05-17-2006, 04:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Twelvefield

What would happen if a scout couldn't make it to the game in time (i.e. his flight gets cancelled)?

It is well documented that some scouts drink to excess. That is why the flights are "cancelled". They are too hammered from drinking whisky from beer steins.

rocknfire7 · 05-17-2006, 04:56 PM

Advance Scout = a must have IMO.

andymac · 05-17-2006, 05:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rocknfire7

Advance Scout = a must have IMO.

I hate the phrase "must have". Are you not going to buy the game if it isn't included?

Altus · 05-17-2006, 05:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by battists

I like this idea a lot. I could see it working like this:

a. a new scout position is added to each team, "advance scout" (or it could just be a designation for one of the existing slots)

b. this scout would not need to be (or could not be) assigned tasks during the season. He would automatically scout out each next opponent. On the day before a series begins with a team, he would provide a report.

In my vision, it would be something like this:

1. It would be as if the scout "quick-scouted" each player on the team.
2. The message would include the following info:

- Overall info on the team - last 10 games, position in the standings, etc.
- significant injuries (they just lost Wilson for the season, that's a big drop at center field for them)
- streaks (Cruz is unstoppable right now, we should pitch around him as much as possible; let's take advantage of White, he couldn't hit his way out of a wet paper bag)
- key players (just a list of the star-caliber players on their team)
- extra cool option: pitch matchup analysis (something like "We have our number 4 pitcher going against their ace on Wednesday. You should have a quick hook - we can't let that game get away from us...")

Thoughts?

Steve

This is how it works in FM 2005 and various CMs before that.
On your scout menu, you pick a team, player, coountry, region, or continent for your scout.

Other options are to look only for youth players.

But importantly for this discussion, you could set one of your scouts to look at your next opponents. He would do that throughout the season.

A day or two before each game, you would get an email with a small breakdown of the opposition.

Something like Blackburn likes to play 4-3-3 and their pace forwards might cause you problems.

Its was excellent in tweaking tactics for specific opponents.

I would have thought that would have been easy for OOtp06

05-17-2006, 02:40 PM	#1
SSG Troyer All Star Starter Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Somewhere to the left of 2nd base Posts: 1,598	Call for an Advance Scout Correct me if I'm wrong. Every MLB team has a scout who watches whatever team his employer's squad is about to face. Am I right? With the (WIP) Scouting chapter of the manual now available, I don't see the ability to do this. I could micromanage one scout, sending him to my next opponent. But it takes (roughly) two weeks to fully scout a team. This is too long to be an effective Advance Scout. Even so, I could, if I really wanted to, Quick Scout every player on my next opponent's roster, but honestly, I don't think I want to be bothered with that. We need the ability to Quick Scout a team in three days. Then, I could effectively micromanage an Advance Scout. But it would be even nicer if there was an Advance Scout staff position that would automatically do this, as long as he held the job ... __________________ MWT Did Tennesee Delaware Mississppi's New Jersey? Idaho ... Alaska!

05-17-2006, 02:46 PM	#2
Riverdome All Star Reserve Join Date: May 2002 Location: Ohio Posts: 964	In general I think the scouting system is going to require way too much of my time. But the wonderful thing about OOTP has always been the ability to turn off features that we don't like. Maybe a good middle ground would be a "Scouting Light" system that wasn't quite so in depth. Something to think about for OOTP7. I also like the idea of an advance scout. This would go a long way in making the scouting system a part of the game and not as encompassing as it seems like it will be. __________________ I was at the first OOTP Conference, where were you?..........

05-17-2006, 03:55 PM	#6
Gumies Minors (Rookie Ball) Join Date: Aug 2003 Location: Sooke AKA Middle of Nothing. Posts: 31	I really like that idea Steve, that would be an amazing option, and really turn up the realism another lvl. - Chris __________________ Oakland is Smoken.

05-17-2006, 04:02 PM	#10
SSG Troyer All Star Starter Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Somewhere to the left of 2nd base Posts: 1,598	The manual says we can ask for a Quick Scout of any one player and get a 'rough' answer immedeatly. I'd like to be able to tell a scout to Quick Scout a team, effectively giving a Quick Scout report for every player that hits the field in whatever games he watches games. The Advance Scout would look ahead in his employer's schedule, travel to whereever the next team his employer is to face, and Quick Scout that team until they are ready to play his Home Side. Then he would move on to the next team. We would get a message the day before the series started (and accessable in-game (which I believe is already in place)) filled with Quick Scouting Reports of every player who had played in whatever games he had watched. In game, I would have an up-to-date FoW and quick access to a (very) recent scouting report. __________________ MWT Did Tennesee Delaware Mississppi's New Jersey? Idaho ... Alaska! Last edited by SSG Troyer; 05-17-2006 at 04:47 PM.

05-17-2006, 04:04 PM	#11
SSG Troyer All Star Starter Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Somewhere to the left of 2nd base Posts: 1,598	dola What Steve said, too ... __________________ MWT Did Tennesee Delaware Mississppi's New Jersey? Idaho ... Alaska!

05-17-2006, 03:56 PM	#7
sean-patin Minors (Triple A) Join Date: Feb 2006 Posts: 205	yeah... that would definitely be something that I'd love!

05-17-2006, 04:06 PM	#12
kagnew35 All Star Starter Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Las Vegas, Nev Posts: 1,965	[quote=andymac]Sounds great, Steve...pretty much exactly what I would be looking for in an Advance Scout report. The only thing I could possibly say to add is for the advance scout to also do some research for you in terms of matchups. Maybe part of his report should be that your backup 2nd baseman has pretty good career numbers vs. the guy who is supposed to pitch in the 2nd game of the series. Same goes for simple platoon splits, he should probably tell you if their number 3 hitter is significantly better vs. lefties or righties. Basically, along with scouting he could be a way to get some quick info about the series matchups for those who don't want to look at a bunch of different reports before each series.[/quote Well said and great idea, andymac, would really save a lot of time poring over whole teams scouting reports. __________________ Elder Statesman of the Board http://www.soxxcountry.com/ site with FaceGen Central and Duffys Tavern Live OOTP Chat Room

05-17-2006, 04:13 PM	#13
Twelvefield All Star Starter Join Date: Mar 2003 Posts: 1,188	This makes a lot of sense to me. I mean, there are a lot of bits of information we could collect ourselves on a game-to-game basis, but that just amounts to a mouse-clickfest. The scouting staff should be bright enough to see that there are games coming up in the schedule and deal with them. I wonder if there's only one advance scout in real-life, and if he travels to all of the games in advance of his team. Or, do the scouts take turns for this job? What would happen if a scout couldn't make it to the game in time (i.e. his flight gets cancelled)?

05-17-2006, 04:17 PM	#14
Hotblack Desiato Major Leagues Join Date: Oct 2005 Posts: 323	It really depends on how it's implemented. I wouldn't want it if it's not useful information. I can look at a team myself and see who's been injured recently or who's on a hot or cold streak. If they were reevaluating their ratings or something truly insightful, that would be great, but the last thing we need is an MVP 2005-style advance scout. "The Yankees are one of the best hitting teams in the league. Therefore, we should be careful pitching to them." Really?!

05-17-2006, 04:56 PM	#18
rocknfire7 Banned Join Date: Nov 2005 Posts: 1,907 Infractions: 0/2 (4)	Advance Scout = a must have IMO.